Illinois Libel Law
Gerald S. McCarthy v. Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.
After a bench trial, defendants Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., and Tenth District were found liable for defamation per se of plaintiff, Gerald McCarthy. Although defendants raised a number of issues on appeal, the dispositive issue is whether plaintiff's amended complaints adding defendants were barred by the statute of limitations. The resolution of this issue depends on whether plaintiff made a... More...
$0 (06-30-2011 - IL)Wallace C. Leyshon v. Diehl Controls North America, Inc.
The plaintiff, Wallace C. Leyshon, brought suit against the defendants, Diehl Controls North America, Inc. (DCNA) and Christoph Weigand,1 alleging their breach of an employment contract, violation of the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act (820 ILCS 115/1 et seq. (West 2006)), and defamation. Following trial, the jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff and awarded damages. On the defamation... More...
$0 (12-27-2010 - IL)John F. Tamburo v. Steven Dworkin
John Tamburo, an Illinois resident who operates a dog-breeding software business in Illinois, filed suit in the Northern District of Illinois alleging federal and state antitrust violations and several inten2 tional tort claims under Illinois law. His claims arise out of a dispute over the contents of a dog-pedigree software program he developed by lifting data from the defendants' websites. He al... More...
$0 (04-08-2010 - IL)Jessie Williams v. Jerry Fleming
Jessie Williams was a customer of Family Bank & Trust Company in Illinois. Following a Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) routine examination in late 2005, Family Bank stopped making loans to Williams, supposedly at the behest of FDIC Associate Examiner Jerry Fleming. The alleged catalyst for Fleming's decision was a racially motivated bias against Williams and other African-Americans. <... More...
$0 (02-26-2010 - IL)Jerri Blount v. Joseph Stroud, and Jovon Broadcasting, WJYS-TV 62/34
Following a jury trial, defendants Jovon Broadcasting and Joseph Stroud, the owner and operational manager of Jovon Broadcasting, were found liable for retaliation against plaintiff Jerri Blount, a former employee of Jovon Broadcasting. The jury awarded Blount a total of $3,082,350 in damages, which was comprised of $257,350 for back pay, $25,000 for physical and/or emotional pain and suffering, a... More...
$0 (10-16-2009 - IL)David N. Missner v. Robert A. Clifford
In this defamation action, plaintiff David N. Missner appeals from an order in which the circuit court converted defendant Robert A. Clifford's motion to dismiss under section 2- 619(a)(9) of the Code of Civil Procedure (Code) (735 ILCS 5/2-619(a)(9) (West 2006)) into a motion for summary judgment under section 2-1005 of the Code (735 ILCS 5/2-1005 (West 2006)), and subsequently granted summary ju... More...
$0 (08-12-2009 - IL)Federal Insurance Company v. Binney & Smith, Inc., a subsidiary of Hallmark Cards, Inc.
This insurance indemnity action is drawn by the packaging of boxes of crayons and colored by the expense of settling a lawsuit directed at the packaging.<br><br>Plaintiff Federal Insurance Co. (Federal) filed a declaratory judgment action against defendant Binney & Smith, Inc. (Binney), seeking a declaration that it did not owe a duty to defend or indemnify defendant in connection with a class act... More...
$0 (07-15-2009 - IL)David N. Missner v. Robert A. Clifford
In this defamation action, plaintiff David N. Missner appeals from an order in which the circuit court converted defendant Robert A. Clifford's motion to dismiss under section 2- 619(a)(9) of the Code of Civil Procedure (Code) (735 ILCS 5/2-619(a)(9) (West 2006)) into a motion for summary judgment under section 2-1005 of the Code (735 ILCS 5/2-1005 (West 2006)), and subsequently granted summary ju... More...
$0 (05-20-2009 - IL)Westport Insurance Corporation v. Jackson National Life Insurance Company
Defendant, Stonecrafters, Inc. (Stonecrafters), appeals from an order of the circuit court of McHenry County entering summary judgment for plaintiff, Westport Insurance Corporation (Westport), in an action for a declaratory judgment. Stonecrafters sought a declaration that coverage under an insurance policy issued to Jackson National Life Insurance Company (Jackson) did not extend to the liability... More...
$0 (12-19-2008 - IL)Carl Madison v. Renatta Frazier, Kourtney W. Mitchell, Renatta's Heart, Incorporated
In late 2001, Renatta Frazier, an African-American police officer with the Springfield Police Department, became the subject of an internal affairs investigation when she was accused of failing to prevent a rape while on duty. The incident occurred on October 31, 2001, when Frazier allegedly failed to respond to a dispatch call. She left the Department in November 2001 on a medical leave and appar... More...
$0 (08-22-2008 - IL)BASF AG v. Great American Assurance Co., et al.
This insurance-coverage action represents the third case in a series of lawsuits stemming from the marketing of Synthroid, a synthetic thyroid drug. See In re Synthroid Mktg. Litig., 264 F.3d 712 (7th Cir. 2001); Knoll Pharm. Co. v. Auto. Ins. Co., 152 F. Supp. 2d 1026 (N.D. Ill. 2001). The first case - a multidistrict litigation - consolidated numerous class actions filed by consumers and ... More...
$0 (04-14-2008 - IL)Imperial Apparel, Ltd., et al. v. Cosmo's Designer Direct, Inc., et al.
Imperial Apparel, Ltd. (Imperial); its owner, Paul Rosengarten; and an Imperial employee named Cyril Rosengarten brought an action in the circuit court of Cook County against Cosmo's Designer Direct, Inc. (Cosmo's), and the Chicago Sun-Times (the Sun-Times) alleging that an advertisement for Cosmo's published by the Sun-Times constituted defamation per se, defamation per quod, false light in... More...
$0 (02-07-2008 - IL)West Bend Mutual Ins. Co. v. Rosemont Exposition Services, Inc. and David D. Houston
<P> In 2002 and 2003, defendant, Rosemont Exposition Services, Inc. (RES), maintained liability insurance policies with plaintiff, West Bend Mutual Insurance Company (West Bend). In August of 2003, after two former employees brought suit against RES for defamation and retaliatory discharge, RES tendered a claim for coverage to West Bend pursuant to its policies. West Bend agreed to defend RES... More...
$0 (12-17-2007 - IL)<a href="http://www.state.il.us/COURT/Opinions/AppellateCourt/2007/1stDistrict/January/1031307.pdf" target="_new">Alex R. Seith v. Chicago Sun-Times, Inc. and Steve Neal</a>
<P>On May 7, 2002, plaintiff Alex R. Seith filed a two-count complaint alleging that an article written by the late Steve Neal and published by Chicago Sun-Times, Inc., contained statements which constituted per se libel and false-light invasion of privacy. Defendants moved to dismiss pursuant to section 2-615 of the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure. 735 ILCS 5/2-615 (West 2004). The circuit c... More...
$0 (01-22-2007 - IL)<a href="http://www.ca7.uscourts.gov/op3.fwx?submit1=showop&caseno=02-4330.PDF" target="_new">John P. Kennedy, et al. v. Venrock Associates, et al.</a>
<P>This is a suit by common shareholders of Cadant, Inc. (now CDX Corporation). The defendants are two corporate entities that we'll call "Venrock" and "J.P. Morgan" and individuals associated with them, but we defer consideration of the individual defendants to the end of the opinion and till then use "defendants" to denote just the entities. The suit is based on federal securities law and ... More...
$0 (10-29-2003 - IL)<a href="http://www.state.il.us/court/Opinions/AppellateCourt/2002/1stDistrict/December/Html/1021288.htm" target="_new">Gould & Ratner v. Vigilant Insurance Company</a>
Gould & Ratner, a law firm, purchased the insurance policy from Vigilant Insurance Company doing business as Chubb Group of Insurance Companies (Vigilant). Gould & Ratner was sued by David Carmell for defamation and breach of fiduciary duty (the underlying suit). Gould & Ratner notified Vigilant of the suit. Vigilant said it had no duty to defend or indemnify Gould & Ratner in the underlying suit ... More...
$0 (12-12-2002 - IL)<a href="http://www.ca7.uscourts.gov/op3.fwx?yr=00&num=2576&Submit1=Request+Opinion" target="_new">Cincinnati Insurance Company v. Eastern Atlantic Insurance Company</a>
The plaintiff in this diversity suit (governed, all agree, by Illinois law) is an insurance company that we'll call "Cincinnati." The complaint seeks a declaration that Cincinnati has no duty to defend the two defendants, "Eastern" and "Integrity," under the basic liability policy that it had issued to them and under an umbrella liability policy that it had issued to Integrity alone. Eas... More...
$0 (08-02-2001 - IL)<a href="http://www.ca7.uscourts.gov/op3.fwx?yr=99&num=4070&Submit1=Request+Opinion" target="_new">Guzell v. Hiller</a>
The plaintiff appeals from the dismissal under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) of his Fourth Amendment false-arrest suit against two Chicago police officers. 42 U.S.C. sec. 1983. According to the complaint, back in 1988 Guzell, a travel agent, sold a round-trip Chicago-to- Warsaw airline ticket to Agniezka Bacik. "In order to facilitate the travel arrangements and as security for payment," we rea... More...
$0 (08-07-2000 - IL)Chicago City Day School, an Illinois not-for-profit corporation v. Roma WADE a/k/a Roma Wehde a/k/a Roma, et al. Chicago City Day Sch
Redress Harm Due to False and Defamatory Statements - Plaintiff sued the defendants for alleged defamatory statements made during an aired radio talk show segment by the radio talk show host. Chicago City Day School alleges that the talk show host made remarks that suggested libel and slander regarding the issuance of a permit to demolish a coach's house on campus, calling the tactics deployed as... More...
$0 (06-23-1998 - IL)